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SPECIAL  REPORT 


OF  THK 


UREAU  OP  LABOR  STATISTIG 


STATE  OF  CALIFORNIA 


For  the  six  months  ending  December  31,  1911. 


JOHN  P.  McLaughlin 


Commissioner 


948  Market  Street 
SAN   FRANCISCO 


SACRAMENTO 

^;      FRIEND    WM.    RICHAJJDSON       -  -  -      SUPERINTENDENT    STATE    PRINTING 

1912 


SPECIAL  REPORT 


OF  THE 


I  BUREAU  Of  LABOR  STATISTICS 


STATE  OF  CALIFORNIA 


For  the  six  months  ending  December  31,  1911. 


JOHN  P.  McLaughlin 


Commissioner 


948  Market  Street 
SAN    FRANCISCO 


SACRAMENTO 

FRIEND    WM.    RICHARDSON       -         -  -      SUPERINTENDENT    STATE    PRINTING 

1912 


A 

t''** 


LEnER  Of  TRANSMISSION. 


Ilia  Excellency,  IIikam  W.  Johnson, 
Governor  of  California. 

State  Bureau  op  Labor  Statistics, 
San  Francisco,  April  19,  1912. 

Sir  :  I  liave  the  honor  to  submit  herewith  a  special  report  on  the  work 
of  this  Bureau  for  the  six  months  ending  December  31,  1911. 

Respectfully, 

JOHN  P.  ^Mclaughlin, 

Commissioner. 


251754 


REPORT 


OF  THE 


BUREAU  Of  LABOR  STATISTICS  fOR  TNE  SIX  MONTHS 
ENDING  DECEMBER  31,  1911. 

Upon  my  taking-  office,  I  found  that  the  previous  work  of  the  Bureau 
had  been  confined  j)rincipally  to  the  o-atherina:  and  tal)uhition  of  sta- 
tistics. Tliero  were  only  four  laws  on  the  statute  books  which  expressly 
stated  that  the  enforcement  thereof  devolved  upon  this  Bureau,  namely, 
the  child  labor  law.  the  ten  hour  law  for  drus"  clerks,  factory  insi)ection 
law.  and  the  employment^ageney  law.  T  inunediately  inaujiurated  a 
new  i>olicy.  l)astHl  upon  th(>  theory  that  the  purpose  of  the  Bureau  was 
to  enforce  the  provisions  of  all  laws  pertaining  to  labor — wliether  or 
not  any  specific  mention  was  made  as  to  who  should  enforce  them.  FV)r 
example,  the  eight  hour  law  for  women,  pay  check  law,  payment  of  wage 
law.  the  weekly  day  of  rest  law,  laws  for  the  protection  of  labor  on 
buildings,  laws  pertaining  to  labor  on  public  works,  and  many  others, 
all  of  which  contain  no  provision  for  their  enforcement,  nor  carry  any 
appropriation  for  defraying  the  cost  entailed,  and  as  a  result  would  have 
passed  into  the  limbo  of  forgotten  statutes.  In  assuming  this  self- 
imposed  work  of  enforcing  all  labor  laws.  I  fully  realized  the  enormous 
task  that  lay  before  the  Bureau,  but  justified  it  in  the  great  amount  of 
good  that  would  flow  therefrom,  and  the  results  obtained  far  surpass 
anything  that  I  had  hoped  to  accomplish. 

While  we  have  assumed  this  additional  work,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  none  of  the  other  work  of  the  Bureau  has  been  neglected ;  in  fact, 
it  has  been  our  aim  to  advance  it  beyond  the  work  accomplished  in 
previous  years. 

In  presenting  this  report,  I  will  dwell  principally  upon  Ihc  more 
important  labor  laws  and  describe  in  a  brief  manner  what  has  lieen 
accomplished  under  them.  In  the  Fifteenth  Biennial  Report  of  this 
Bureau  the  results  of  our  work  will  be  described  more  fully. 

The  Child  Labor  Law.— As  a  measure  affecting  the  public  welfare 
this  law  i-anks  foremost,  and  I  am  pleased  to  state  at  this  time  that 
California  stands  in  the  front  rank  of  the  states  in  respect  to  the  char- 
acter of  its  child  lal)or  law  aiul  probably  first  in  the  enforcement  thereof. 
The  legislature  of  1911  made  many  important  changes  in  the  child 
labor  law.  ;imong  which  were  the  raising  of  the  age  under  wliich  a  child 
could  work — with  an  age  and  schooling  ceilificate — frcmi  fourteen  years 
to  fifteen  years;  raising  the  age  for  night  work  from  sixteen  to  eigliteeu 
years,  and  providing  for  the  return  to  school  of  all  children  under  six- 
teen within  two  weeks  after  ceasing  to  work. 

After  making  an  investigation  of  the  conditions  surrounding  child 
labor,  I  found  that  one  of  the  greatest  obstacles  in  the  way  of  enforce- 
ment was  the  indiscriminate  Jssuance  of  certificates  by  teachers  and 
]U'incipaIs  of  |uiblic  and  private  schools.  The  first  step  was  to  limit  the 
numl)cr  of  ]}ersous  authorized  hy  law  to  i.ssue  these  certificates.     This 


—  6  — 

was  done  by  placing  a  strict  interpretation  upon  section  3  of  the  child 
labor  law,  thus  making  one  person  responsible  in  each  locality.  The 
next  step  was  to  place  the  issuance  of  certificates  upon  a  proper  basis. 
The  Bureau  prepared  and  had  printed  all  the  various  certificates  and 
permits  required  under  the  provisions  of  the  child  labor  law  and  dis- 
tributed them  to  the  persons  authorized  by  law  to  issue  same.  The  age 
and  schooling  certificates  and  the  juvenile  court  permits  were  all  num- 
bered, and  in  duplicate,  and  at  the  end  of  each  six  months  must  be 
accounted  for  in  a  report  filed  with  this  Bureau.  In  order  to  give  the 
law  the  greatest  amount  of  publicity  and  at  the  same  time  inform  the 
public  of  the  new  order  of  things,  this  Bureau  prepared  a  circular  of 
instructions  and  a  digest  of  the  child  labor  law,  which  was  sent  to  the 
school  department  and  the  probation  officers  in  every  county,  and  to  the 
principal  newspapers  throughout  the  State.  OwingJi)  a  conflict  in  the 
compulsory  education  law  and  the  child  labor  law — the  latter  providing 
that  no  child  under  fifteen  years  of  age  shall  be  employed  without  a 
juvenile  court  permit,  which  can  not  be  obtained  unless  the  parents  of 
the  child  are  incapacitated  through  illness — and  the  former  law  provid- 
ing that  a  child  under  fifteen  who  had  graduated  from  the  prescribed 
grammar  school  grades,  can  not  be  compelled  to  attend  school — we  were 
obliged  to  issue  a  new  form  of  certificate,  which  we  termed  a  "Tem- 
porary Work  Permit. ' '  This  certificate  is  issued  only  through  our  office, 
to  children  under  fifteen  years  of  age  who  have  completed  the  prescribed 
grammar  school  course.  For  the  six  months  ending  December  31,  1911, 
eighty-one  of  these  certificates  were  issued  in  the  State  of  California. 
Shortly  after  the  new  system  was  in  operation,  the  special  agents  of 
the  Bureau  visited  and  inspected  the  principal  establishments  employing 
child  labor  in  the  larger  cities  and  saw  that  the  law  was  being  obeyed. 
Since  then  our  agents  have  been  checking  up  on  the  employment  of  chil- 
dren, in  their  regular  work  of  inspection ;  3,000  establishments  having 
been  inspected  up  to  December  31,  1911.  I  take  great  pride  in  again 
stating  that  California  now  stands  out  as  an  example  of  what  can  be 
done  in  the  way  of  keeping  children  out  of  the  factory  and  store  and 
keeping  them  in  the  school. 

The  Eight  Hour  Law  for  Women. — This  law  was  passed  by  the 
legislature  of  1911,  and  became  effective  April  21,  1911.  Immediately 
upon  its  becoming  effective,  this  Bureau  undertook  its  enforcement,  and 
had  5.000  copies  of  the  law  printed  and  distributed.  In  proceeding  with 
our  work  of  enforcement,  the  Bureau  pursued  its  usual  policy  of  first 
serving  a  warning  on  persons  violating  the  provisions  of  the  act.  The 
majority  of  persons  so  warned  are  inclined  to  heed  such  a  warning  and 
to  comply  strictly  with  the  law. 

In  the  case  of  those  who  refuse  or  neglect  to  heed  our  warning,  we  are 
obliged  to  resort  to  criminal  prosecutions.  In  prosecuting  cases  against 
violators  of  the  eight  hour  law,  we  were  seriously  handicapped,  owing  to 
■  the  reluctance  with  which  women  will  testify  against  their  employers. 
This  reluctance  is  due  to  the  belief  that  such  testimony  would  cause 
them  to  lose  their  positions.  This  has  been  overcome,  however,  by  resort- 
ing to  a  system  of  watching,  in  Avhich  we  have  detailed  men  to  actually 
keep  a  record  on  the  length  of  time  the  women  are  employed.  The  evi- 
dence thus  obtained  has  never  failed  to  secure  a  conviction.     We  were 


—  7  — 

compelled  to  resort  to  this  method  of  keeping  watch,  especially  against 
the  French  laundries,  after  several  unsuccessful  attempts  to  prosecute 
them  from  evidence  that  we  endeavored  to  secure  from  the  women 
employed  therein. 

A  great  deal  of  comment  was  made — both  by  prominent  persons  and 
the  press — as  to  the  effect  of  the  eight  hour  law  upon  the  economic  con- 
(.litions  of  the  women  themselves  and  upon  ])usiness  in  general.  In  order 
to  ascertain  whether  there  was  any  merit  in  these  contentions,  our  special 
agents  were  instructed  to  ask  the  following  questions  from  each  estab- 
lishment employing  women,  in  making  their  round  of  inspection : 

(1)  Have  any  women  been  discharged  on  account  of  the  eight  hour 

law? 

(2)  Have  the  wages  of  women  been  reduced? 

(3)  Statement  of  views  of  the  employer  on  the  eight  hour  law. 

(4)  Statement  of  views  of  the  women  on  the  eight  hour  law. 

While  our  work  along  this  line  is  not  yet  complete,  the  answers 
obtaned  in  over  2.000  estal)lishments  employing  women,  up  to  the  present 
time,  show  that  less  than  a  dozen  women  have  been  actually  discharged 
on  account  of  the  eight  hour  law.  Further,  that  there  has  been  practi- 
cally no  reduction  in  wages,  even  in  the  case  of  those  women  working  on 
piece  work.  We  were  informed  that  these  women  accomplished  as  much 
in  eight  hours  as  they  did  formerly  in  eight  and  a  half  and  nine  hours. 
In  some  factories  the  rate  has  been  slightly  increased  to  permit  them  to 
earn  as  much  as  formerly.  The  majority  of  employers  in  these  factories 
informed  us  that  the  eight  hour  law  has  improved  the  efficiency  of  the 
women.  In  other  words,  that  they  accomplish  more  in  a  shorter  period 
of  time.  Over  75  per  cent  of  employers  of  women  stated  that  they  had 
no  objection  to  offer  against  the  law,  while  about  20  per  cent  stated  that 
they  had  no  objection  to  a  forty-eight  hour  a  week  law,  but  were  opposed 
to  a  strict  eight  hour  a  day  law.  This  objection  was  based  principally 
upon  the  inconvenience  caused  in  the  office  departments  around  the  first 
of  the  month.  Less  than  5  per  cent  of  the  employers  voiced  any  opposi- 
tion to  the  eight  hour  law.  Numerous  statements  appeared  that  women 
were  .being  displaced  by  men.  In  our  investigation  we  have  run  across 
only  two  or  three  instances  of  this  kind.  We  have  compared  schedules 
obtained  a  year  ago  from  the  principal  employers  of  women,  and  find, 
almost  without  exception,  that  the  num])er  of  women  employed  has 
increased  rather  than  diminished.  While,  as  stated  before,  our  work 
is  not  yet  complete,  I  believe  that  our  investigation  will  show  that  the 
eight  hour  law  has  not  driven  women  out  of  the  industrial  ranks,  but, 
to  the  contrary,  that  it  has  furnished  employnuMit  for  a  greater  number 
of  women. 

Anotherquestion  arose  respecting  the  eight  hour  law.  namely,  its 
effect  upon  tTie  ti'ade  during  t  lie  Christmas  holidays.  The  representatives 
of  some  of  the  large  institutions  em])loying  women  called  upon  me  and 
requested  that  I  agree  to  a  suspension  of  tlie  o|)eration  of  the  law  during 
the  holiday  season,  on  the  ground  that  if  they  complied  with  the  law 
they  would  be  compelled  to  close  evenings  and  tliis,  ihey  stated,  would 
inconvenience  the  purchasing  public — especially  the  workingmen — who 
could  not  shop  during  the  day.  These  representatives  were  informed 
that  under  no  condition  would  the  Bureau  be  a  party  to  any  agreement 


as  to  the  cessation  of  the  operation  of  the  ei<>'ht  hour  law,  and  that  the 
large  department  stores,  like  all  other  institutions,  would  have  to  adjust 
themselves  to  the  requirements  of  their  holiday  business  on  such  a  basis 
as  to  come  strictly  within  the  act,  and  further,  that  any  violation  of  the 
law  comint>'  to  our  attention  would  be  promptly  prosecuted.  Intimations 
were  made  that  the  law  would  be  violated  and  that  before  the  cases  could 
be  prosecuted  the  holiday  season  would  be  over.  These  violations,  how- 
ever, did  not  materialize,  probably  owing-  to  the  fact  that  we  informed 
the  persons  making-  the  intimation  that  we  would  call  upon  the  entire 
legal  machinery  of  the  State,  if  necessary,  in  order  to  maintain  our  posi- 
tion, if  such  violations  were  attempted. 

In  order  to  ascertain  whether  the  arguments  advanced  relative  to  the 
dire  results  that  would  tiow  from  a  strict  enforcement  of  the  eight  hour 
law  during  the  holiday  season  had  any  merit,  shortly  after  the  first  of 
the  year  we  made  personal  visits  to  the  large  department  stores  and  other 
institutions  catering  to  the  holiday  trade,  and  questioned  them  as  to 
the  operation  of  this  law.  We  also  provided  them  with  a  list  of  ques- 
tions, which  we  requested  them  to  answer.  This  investigation  proved  of 
great  interest  and  importance,  as  it  brought  out  very  clearly  the  fact 
that  the  opposition  to  most  laws  is  based  on  a  preconceived  idea  as  to 
their  effects,  which  is  generally  disproven  upon  their  being  tried  out. 
Outside  of  the  fact  that  these  firms  were  put  to  considerable  trouble  in 
arranging  their  forces  and  adjusting  their  time  schedules,  the  investiga- 
tion failed  to  substantiate  any  of  the  arguments  advanced  as  to  the  evil 
results  that  would  follow  a  strict  enforcement  of  the  eight  hour  law ;  but 
it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  was  the  first  year  the  law  was  in 
operation,  and  of  necessity  these  establishments  were  not  prepared  or 
experienced  in  adjusting  forces.  With  this  year's  experience  to  hand, 
however,  there  is  no  reason  why  they  should  be  inconvenienced  in  the 
slightest  degree  at  the  next  holiday  season. 

The  schedule  of  questions  which  we  asked  of  these  institutions  was  as 
follows : 

(1)  Approximate  number  of  females  employed  this  season  and  the 

season  of  a  year  ago. 

(2)  Comparison  of  the  amount  of  business  done  this  season  and  the 

season  of  a  year  ago. 

(3)  Comparison  of  the  cost  of  doing  business  of  these  two  seasons, 

especially  as  to  increase  due  to  the  eight  hour  law. 

(4)  The  hours  during  which  the  establishment  was  open  during  the 

holiday  season. 

(5)  The  arrangement  of  the  hours  of  labor  of  the  female  employees. 

(6)  The  extent  of  inconvenience,  if  any,  to  both  customer  and  em- 

ployer, due  to  the  operation  of  the  eight  hour  law. 

A  few  of  the  establishments  have  refused  to  answer  these  questions, 
and  we  must,  therefore,  assume  that  they  have  no  objections  to  offer  to 
the  law  as  it  stands.  The  replies  to  question  1  show  that  the  number  of 
females  employed  was  all  the  way  from  10  to  30  per  cent  greater  in  the 
season  of  1911  than  it  was  in  1910.  Replies  to  ({uestion  2  indicate  that 
the  amount  of  business  done  during  the  season  of  1911  was  from  5  to 
25  per  cent  greater  than  that  of  the  season  of  1910,  the  general  increase 
being  from  15  to  20  per  cent.     The  replies  to  question  3  show  that  the 


—  n  — 

cost  of  doing  business,  due  to  the  eight  hour  law  was  from  2i  to  10  per 
cent  greater  than  formerly,  but  when  we  consider  that  the  volume  of 
business  h;ul  increased  on  an  average  of  from  15  to  20  per  cent,  this 
slight  increase  in  cost  did  not  materially  reduce  the  earnings  of  these 
establishments.  In  reply  to  question  4,  we  found  that  the  majority  of 
the  establishments  in  Los  Angeles  remained  open  evenings  only  three 
days  before  Christnuis,  while  in  San  Francisco  many  remained  open 
evenings  from  one  week  and  others  closed  at  their  usual  hour.  In  answer 
to  question  5,  the  general  methods  pursued  were  to  divide  the  women 
employees  in  three  shifts.  The  first  shift  usually  started  at  9  o'clock, 
the  second  at  12.  and  the  third  at  2  p.  m.  Some  institutions  closed  their 
establishments  between  the  hours  of  5  and  7  p.  m.  Replies  to  question  6 
are  of  considerable  extent  and  variety,  but  summing  up  in  a  general 
way  they  show  that  while  the  public  may  have  been  inconvenienced  to 
some  degree,  they  will  be  in  a  position  to  know  that  their  holiday  pur- 
chases next  season  must  Ije  made  at  an  earlier  date,  as  we  have  been 
assured  by  several  of  the  larger  institutions  that  they  do  not  intend  to 
keep  their  establishments  open  evenings  again  during  the  holiday  season. 
It  rests  with  the  purchasing  public  whether  or  not  they  desire  to  make 
the  operation  of  the  eight  hour  law  objectionable.  There  is  no  reason  why, 
if  women  are  in  sympathy  with  this  statute,  they  can  not  make  their 
holiday  purchases  in  the  regular  hours  of  the  day  during  which  these 
establishments  are  usually  open.  As  respects  the  inconvenience  to  the 
employer,  the  general  objection  was  in  reference  to  their  work  rooms 
or  alteration  departments,  in  which  they  claim  it  was  necessary  to  turn 
out  work  in  a  very  short  space  of  time,  and  the  further  objection  to 
their  period  of  stock  taking,  immediately  following  the  holiday  season, 
W'hen  thej'  require  their  entire  force  to  work  longer  hours  for  a  few 
days  in  order  to  accomplish  the  work  in  the  shortest  space  of  time. 

In  summing  up,  I  desire  to  say  that  our  work  had  disclosed  the  fact 
that  the  enforcement  of  the  eight  hour  law  has  failed  to  bring  forth  any 
of  the  bad  results  predicted  by  its  opponents.  The  large  majority  of 
employers  are  endeavoring  to  comply  with  the  spirit  of  the  law.  This 
last  statement  is  based  upon  the  ever  decreasing  number  of  complaints 
as  to  the  violations  of  the  law  received  by  this  Bureau. 

Payment  of  Wage  Law.— This  law  was  passed  by  the  legislature  of 
1911,  and  became  effective  July  1.  1911.  The  law  is  of  far  greater 
im]iortance  than  I  was  at  first  led  to  ])elieve.  It  is  not  only  a  labor  law, 
but  a  law  tending  to  prevent  men  and  women  from  being  dragged  out  of 
the  ranks  of  industrial  citizens  into  the  ranks  of  "hoboes"  and  crim- 
inals. Our  work  in  the  enforcement  of  this  law  more  than  convinced  us 
that  many  men,  after  having  been  refused  payment  or  having  had 
payment  delayed  for  work  done,  are  compelled  to  walk  the  streets 
hunyry  aiul  arc  finally  driven  to  crime  through  desperation.  The  argu- 
ment has  often  ])een  advanced  that  these  men  couhl  apply  to  the  civil 
courts,  but  as  a  matter  of  common  knowledge,  very  few  attornevs  will 
undertake  to  prosecute  cases  involving  only  a  few  dollars,  and  further, 
that  a  lawsuit  is  poor  nonrishnuMit  for  an  empty  stomach.  In  handling 
the  cases  for  the  collection  of  wages,  we  have  fought  away  from  ci'imiiud 
prosecutions,  as  far  as  i)ossible.  always  endeavoring  to  obtain  {payment 
through  an  ai)peal  to  the  .sense  of  justice  of  the  employer. 


—  10  — 

During  the  six  months  ending  December  31,  1911,  there  were  filed  in 
the  Bureau  903  eomphiins  for  non-payment  of  wages,  out  of  which  we 
were  able  to  effect  663  settlements,  amounting  to  $13,181.17.  These 
claims  for  wages  ranged  from  as  low  as  60  cents  to  up  over  $200,  the 
average  claim  being  $19.88,  an  amount  which  is  too  small  to  justify  any 
attornev  to  collect  same  through  the  regular  channels  of  a  civil  court, 
and  still  great  enough  to  keep  a  man  or  woman  from  becoming  a  public 
charge.  The  claims  in  which  no  settlements  were  secured  were  such  that, 
after^a  thorough  investigation,  proved  to  have  no  merit,  or  were  beyond 
our  power  to  enforce.  In  only  ten  instances  were  we  obliged  to  resort 
to  the  criminal  courts.  Five  of  these  cases  were  dismissed  by  consent, 
u])on  the  em])]oyer  paying  the  full  amount  of  wages  in  court. 

Pay  Check  Law^.  — This  act  became  operative  on  May  1,  1911,  and, 
as  was  said  of  the  payment  of  wage  law,  it  is  not  only  a  lal)or  law,  but 
in  a  n>easure  aims  to  prevent  starvation  and  vagrancy  and  the  results 
that  flow  therefrom.  It  was  common  practice  before  the  law  went  into 
effect  for  large  corporations  and  contractors  to  pay  men  off  in  checks, 
payable  in  from  sixty  days  to  six  months  after  date,  or  in  non-negotiable 
paper  payable  at  some  place  without  the  State.  This  Bureau  had  copies 
of  the  law  printed  and  distributed,  and  further,  informed  large  em- 
ployers of  labor  that  its  provisions  would  have  to  be  complied  with.  We 
have  been  very  successful  in  the  enforcement  of  this  law  and  only  in  two 
instances  did' we  have  to  resort  to  the  courts,  and  these  cases  are  still 
pending.  Whenever  we  notified  employers  they  were  violating  the  law, 
they  immediately  changed  the  form  of  their  pay  check  to  comply  with 
the  interpretation  placed  upon  the  act  by  this  Bureau. 

Employment  Agency  Laws.  — There  are  two  laws  pertaining  to  em- 
ployment agencies — one  defining  their  duties  and  liabilities,  passed  in 
1903 — the  other  imposing  a  state  license  issued  by  this  Bureau,  passed 
in  1909.  These  two  laws  are  of  great  importance  to  the  workingmen 
and  to  the  community  at  large.  Under  the  provisions  of  the  first  law, 
we  have  compelled  the  employment  agents  to  return  the  fees  paid  and 
expenses  incurred  whenever  they  have  made  misrepresentations  to  men 
seeking  employment.  In  the  short  space  of  time  covered  by  this  report, 
we  have  secured  the  return  of  fees  and  expenses  in  226  cases,  involving 
the  sum  of  $1,055.75,  while  in  sixteen  other  cases  new  positions  were 
furnished.  This  number,  however,  does  not  in  any  way  show  the  settle- 
ments made  bv  the  various  employment  agencies.  A  great  many  claims 
are  now  settled  at  the  offices  of  tlie  agencies,  as  they  have  come  to  learn 
the  position  that  this  Bureau  takes  in  respect  to  any  misrepresentations 
on  their  part.  These  misrepresentations  are  not  always  intentional,  but 
nevertheless  we  have  held  that  the  working  man  or  woman  should  not 
suffer  for  the  mistakes  of  the  agencies. 

In  years  gone  by,  men  and  women  have  paid  their  last  dollar  for  fees 
and  railroad  fares  and,  upon  arriving  at  their  destination,  found  that 
no  such  emplovment  as  they  had  paid  for  existed,  thus  leaving  them 
stranded  hundreds  of  miles  from  home,  and  was  the  cause  in  many 
instances  of  turning  an  industrious  person  into  a  vagrant. 

Shortly  after  assuming  office,  I  learned  that  the  actors  and  actresses 
were  lieing  treated  in  very  much  the  same  manner  by  theatnca]_booking 


—  11  — 

agencies.  ]\Iany  eases  were  brought  to  our  attention  where  the  former 
Avould  be  booked  over  a  route  covering  several  weeks,  only  to  receive 
instructions  from  the  booking  agent,  while  at  a  distant  point,  that  there 
were  no  further  bookings  for  them,  thus  leaving  them  high  and  dry  in 
some  strange  part.  If  they  remon.strated,  they  were  politely  informed 
to  apply  to  the  civil  courts  for  redress,  the  booking  agent  knowing  that 
these  performers  had  no  time  to  spend  waiting  around  to  prosecute  a 
civil  action  for  breach  of  contract.  I,  therefore,  notified  these  booking 
agents  that  I  considered  them  within  the  definition  of  an  employment 
agency  and  ordered  them  to  take  out  a  state  license.  They  are  now 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  this  Bureau,  and  Ave  have  been  enabled  to  put 
a  stop  to  the  vicious  practices  employed  by  some  of  them. 


It  would  require  an  extended  report  to  cover  our  work  in  enforcing 
other  labor  laws,  and  I  will,  therefore,  only  make  brief  mention  of  some 
of  them  at  the  present,  and  will  leave  the  details  for  our  biennial  report. 

I  found  that  the  ten  hour  law  for  drug  clerks  Avas  generally  disre- 
garded, and  sent  a  formjd  notice  to  each"and  every  drug  store  in  the 
State,  informing  their  proprietors  that  they  would  have  to  comply  with 
the  provisions  of  the  act.  This  was  folloAved  up  by  a  personal  inspection 
by  our  agents  in  all  the  larger  cities  and  towns. 

A  pamphlet  was  prepared  containing  laws  relative  to  labor  on  public 
works,  and  mailed  to  all  the  officials  of  the  various  counties  having  juris- 
diction or  supervision  over  public  work,  together  with  a  letter  notifying 
them  that  we  would  demand  strict  compliance  with  these  laws. 

Considerable  time  has  been  devoted  to  the  enforcement  of  laws  rela- 
tive to  sanitation  and  ventilation  of  factories  and  workshops,  particu- 
larly to  the  installation  of  blowers.  We  have  ordered  fans  and  blowers 
installed  wherever  a  process  was  carried  on  which  produced  dust  or 
filaments  injurious  to  the  health  of  employees. 

Under  the  provisions  of  an  act  approved  May  1,  1911,  which  pro- 
hibits minors  under  the  age  of  eighteen  years  from  vending  or  engaging 
in  business  between  the  hours  of  ten  in  the  evening  and  five  in  the  morn- 
ing, we  have  been  able  to  keep  the  newsboys  off  the  streets  during  these 
hours.  On  one  occasion  Ave  rounded  up  the  newspaper  offices  in  San 
Francisco  at  2  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  took  into  custody  twenty- 
three  boys  under  the  age  of  eighteen  years.  The  cases  were  tried  before 
the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court.  We  did  not  desire  to  have  any  convic- 
tions standing  against  the  boys,  and  the  court,  therefore,  dismissed  them 
Avith  a  reprimand.  This  had  the  desired  effect,  and  very  fcAV  violations 
have  since  been  drawn  to  our  attention. 

In  enforcing  the  law  pertaining  to  temporary  floors  in  buildings 
under  construction,  Ave  haA^e  had  notices  printed  and  posted  on  buildings 
Avarning  all  per.sons  interested  to  comply  Avith  the  provisions  of  the 
statute.  In  all  instances  Avhere  wo  have  posted  these  notices,  the  tem- 
porary floors  have  been  immediately  installed.  This  law  is  of  extreme 
AJ^alue  in  protecting  the  lives  of  mechanics,  especially  upon  tall  steel 
structures. 

The  weekly  day  of  rest  laAV  Avas  resurrected  from  the  realm  of  for-,/ 
gotten  legislation.     This  law  has  been  on  the  statute  l)ooks  since  1893," 
but  had  remained  a  dead-letter.     In  enforcing  this  act  we  have  taken 


—  12  — 

into  consideration  the  fact  that  it  would  retiuire  a  campaign  of  education 
in  order  to  accustom  the  emphjving  public  with  a  law  that  had  been 
inoperative  for  such  a  long  period  of  time.  We  have,  therefore,  pur- 
sued the  policy  of  sending  copies  of  the  law  and  a  notice  to  comply,  in 
every  instance  where  a  complaint  has  been  made,  and  are  gradually 
taking  up  the  industries  in  which  the  violations  have  been  most  flagrant 
and  the  hours  of  labor  excessive. 

Aside  from  the  work  of  enforcing  the  various  labor  laws  of  this  State, 
we  have  endeavored  to  lend  assistance  in  the  way  of  advice  and  help  to 
all  persons  applying  at  the  offices  of  the  Bureau.  We  have  assisted  in 
the  tiling  of  mechanics'  liens,  the  filing  of  claims  for  labor  in  bank- 
ruptcy i)roceedings,  claims  for  labor  done  on  public  works,  and  many 
other  matters  concerning  the  welfare  of  labor. 

In  closing,  I  desire  to  submit  a  few  statistical  tables  M^ilch  will  serve 
to  show  at  a  glance  the  work  entailed  and  the  results  obtained  in  the 
enforcement  of  these  laws. 


Record   of  Complaints   Filed    in    Bureau    and    Investiga 

Ending   December  31,   1911 

ted    Durin 

g   the  Six 

Months 

Nature  of  complaint. 

Total  for 
State. 

San 

Francisco 

Office. 

Los 
Angeles 
Office. 

fa')  Xon-payment  of  wages „    .. 

903 

370 

267 

51 

47 

42 

4 

6 

645 

292 

210 

41 

28 

42 

4 

6 

258 

Eight  hour  law  for  women  .  -      _ 

78 

(b)    Emiiloyment   agencies ..    _. 

57 

Child    labor     

10 

Blower.*      .  .  ._.  .._  .  . 

19 

Sanitation   _..  _._  .  . 

Scaffolding    .-.  .     .  . 

Weekly  day  of  rest ..  ..-  _  . 

Total 

1,690 

1,268 

422 

(a)  Non-payment  of  wages. 


Claims 
filed. 

Claims 
collected. 

Amount 
of  wages 
collected. 

San   FrancLsco   Office-     

645 
258 

488 
175 

$9,682  03 
3  499  14 

Los   Angeles    ()tfiee-_  „. .  _  _ 

Total  for  State .. 

903 

663 

$13,181  17 

(b)  Employment  agencies. 


('omplaints 
tiled. 

Fees  and  expenses 
ordered  returned. 

New 

positions 
furnislied. 

Dismissed. 

Numlier. 

Amount. 

San  Francisco  Office _. 

210 

57 

177 
49 

$912  80 
142  95 

8 
8 

25 

Los   Angeles    Office 

Total  for  State 

267 

226 

$1,055  75 

-  16 

25 

•      J    •*^    •    •     •    •*  »•'• 


Record  of  Prosecutions  Conducted   by  the   Bureau    During  the  Six    Months   Ending 

December  31,   1911. 


Nature  of  offense. 

Total  for 
State. 

San 

Francisco 

Office. 

Los 
Angeles 
Office. 

Disposition  of  case. 

Convicted. 

Dismissed. 

Pending. 

Child  labor  law 

15 

41 

10 
2 

2 
1 
2 

1 

2 

12 

28 

3 

3 
13 

7 
2 

7 
22 

1 

8 
8 

8 

Eight  hour  law  for  women 

11 

Payment  of  wages    . .. 

1 

Pay  check    . . 

2 

Employment    agents— Advance   fees 

2 

1 
2 

1 

1 
1 
2 
1 
1 

1 

Emiiloyment  agents— License  .      

Misrepresentation  as  to  strikes 

Blower  law 

2 
1 
2 

2 

Ten  hours  law  for  drug  clerks 

Weekly  day  of  rest 

-  -     -. 
2 

Total    

79 
23 

49 
23 

30 

36 

29 
23 

14 

*Vending  at  night-- 

Total      

102 

72 

30 

36 

52 

14 

*These  cases  were  against  newsboys,    and  this  Bureau  did  not  desire  to  obtain  convictions 
against  the  boys.     The  arrests  were  more  in  the  nature  of  a  warning. 


?••♦ 


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